Something To Talk About
by DimiGex
Summary: When Truth or Dare works out in Sakura's favor


"I'm not doing it," Sakura whined, stomping her foot hard enough to raise a puff of dust on the street where she stood. "You can't seriously expect me to just walk up and kiss him."

"We seriously do, forehead," Ino laughed, gesturing at their collective group of friends as if she were their spokesperson. She probably was. Ino-pig had her nose in everything, whether it concerned her not.

Ino's expression turned devilish. "You're the one who chose a dare rather than sharing the details of," her voice dropped dramatically, practically dripping with amusement, "your first time."

Sakura's cheeks flushed, and she kicked at the stone in the street, sending it skipping. The heat in the late summer air had eased somewhat, but it was still more than warm enough to justify the pink in her cheeks. Ino grinned, eyes sharper than any razor. As Sakura's best friend, the woman knew the answer to that question. But, somehow, owning up to it in front of Naruto, Shikamaru, Tenten, and their other friends had been more than she could bear, until she'd heard the dare. Now, she'd happily tell them about the miserable attempt to seduce Sasuke.

"You don't have to, Sakura-chan," Naruto offered before being overridden by protests from the others, most of whom had already completed their round of dares and truths.

Sakura cursed the stupid idea that they needed to get together before the summer ended. Dinner had been wonderful, but things took an uglier turn when their drinking led to a game of truth or dare. The questions were terrible, specifically designed to prey on each other's worst insecurities. After hearing what fresh hell they would have to describe, most had chosen the dare. Sakura was no exception.

Tightening a hand on Ino's, Sakura pulled her best friend to the side. "I can't do this, you _know_ I can't." She pleaded for a reprieve, silently willing Ino to render mercy.

For a moment, Ino's expression softened into something almost like pity. Then, she shook her head. "This is the only way you _will_ do it," the girl whispered. "Besides, it's too late now; you have to."

"This is such a drag. Here, for courage," Shikamaru thrust a bottle of liquor toward Sakura when Ino dragged her back to the group. The pinkette tipped it up, letting the unknown liquid burn through her chest, and came up spluttering. Sakura held the alcohol out for her friend. Shikamaru's startled expression matched Ino's, but Sakura didn't have time to wonder why. She needed to act while the liquor was fresh in her system.

"Showtime," Ino trilled, pushing Sakura forward.

Kami, this couldn't be happening. Sakura's heart sped wildly in her chest as she stumbled three steps. Her friends hung in the shadows, close enough to watch the farce play out. _I can do this. I'm a kunoichi who has faced dozens of enemy shinobi. This isn't even going to faze me. It'll be over and done with in a matter of seconds, then I can drink enough to forget it ever happened._

The thoughts did little ease Sakura's fears. She raised a hand to knock on the door, but it didn't complete the journey before falling back to her side. If Sakura ran now, she could probably get away from her friends without having to do this. She'd lose face, sure, but there were worse things. _And better ones,_ a traitorous voice whispered in the back of her mind. Ino was right, Sakura would never work up the courage on her own.

Chewing her lip, Sakura debated her options. She took too long apparently. A knock sounded next to her, then one of Naruto's shadow clones poofed out of existence after offering an apologetic smile. Sakura spun to glare at her former teammate, determining that he would confess his love to Hinata once this was over, by force. Naruto had been carrying that torch for nearly-

"Sakura?"

Why did his sleep mused voice have to sound so-no, Sakura forced herself not to complete that thought. She was here on business: finish the dare, then run like hell.

Sakura forced her gaze upward to meet charcoal eyes, affecting her best smile. The alcoholic burn in the back of her throat gave her just enough courage to move one hand onto the man's chest. Kakashi's eyebrows rose in surprise, but Sakura couldn't think about that. His missing flak vest accentuated the hard muscle that tensed beneath her touch.

 _I can do this. I can do this. I can._ The words echoed in time with Sakura's pounding heart. Before she could waver any further, Sakura closed her eyes and stretched on her tiptoes. Her lips met fabric, tantalizing warm fabric, that opened in shock against her mouth.

The parameters of the dare had been three seconds but by the time Sakura had reached two, she couldn't remember why she was counting. Despite the barrier between them, the kiss curled Sakura's toes and pushed worry from her mind. She had wanted to kiss Kakashi for so long, had imagined it so many ways, but this trumped even her wildest fantasies.

Ino's catcall startled the pair apart, jerking Sakura back into the present. Kakashi's eyes slid toward the origin of the sound, took in the group of younger shinobi, then came back to Sakura. "A dare?" At her sheepish nod, he frowned. She could tell by the shifting of fabric that held a shiny tint from her lip gloss. "An unenjoyable one?"

"No," Sakura answered, emboldened by the alcohol and her own breathlessness. "I've wanted to kiss you for ages."

Kakashi chuckled and reached to tuck a hair behind Sakura's ear. "Well then, let's give them something to talk about, shall we?"

Before Sakura could respond, Kakashi's other hand gripped the edge of his mask. Her mind blanked completely as the hidden flesh was revealed; she couldn't even process her thoughts before his lips were on hers. Strong fingers tangled in her hair, tilting her head just so until Kakashi was the only thing Sakura could see, feel, or taste. Fire roared to life in her stomach as she met the kiss, tongue darting out to tease against his.

Kakashi shuddered and let his hands fall to Sakura's hips, drawing her closer. The kiss dragged on far longer than what was considered proper in public, but Sakura couldn't bring herself to care. Kakashi pulled back with a laugh. "Your friends are waiting for your mission report." He breathed the words close enough to raise chill bumps on her overheated skin.

"Let them wait." Sakura caught Kakashi's shirt and pulled him closer for a third kiss, stumbling into his apartment.


End file.
